RUNNING LEAN

A systematic process for iterating

from Plan A to a plan that works

Hashtag: #leanstartup

ASH MAURYA
@ashmaurya
http://www.ashmaurya.com

9/10

products

startups fail

66%

drastically change
their original plans

Not a better Plan A but a path

to a plan that works.

Running Lean is a systematic process for iterating

from Plan A to a plan that works.

Agenda

2:00-3:45pm:
3:45-4:00pm:
4:00-5:30pm:
5:30-6:00pm:

Running Lean Overview

Short break
Document Your Plan A (Workshop)
Questions

Why are startups hard?

The Myth of Visionary

No Product Owner
Product Development Gets in the Way

Why are startups hard?

The Myth of Visionary

No Product Owner
Product Development Gets in the Way

Why are startups hard?

The Myth of Visionary

No Product Owner
Product Development Gets in the Way

Why are startups hard?

The Myth of Visionary

No Product Owner
Product Development Gets in the Way

Some learning

Requirements

Most learning happens here

Development

QA

Release

Very little learning

Greatest risk is not development of new product,
but development of customers and markets.
- Steve Blank

What is Running Lean

Customer Development
+
Lean Startup
+
Bootstrapping

Customer Development

Get out of the building.

- Steve Blank

Lean Startup

Startups that succeed are those that manage to iterate

enough times before running out of resources.
- Eric Ries

Bootstrapping

Right Action, Right Time.

- Bijoy Goswami

About Me

Listening to customer is key,

but you have to know how.

Lifes too short to build something

nobody wants.

Disclaimers

Practice Trumps Theory

I believe

- If youre going to charge, charge from day 1

- Start building a path to customers from day 1

There are no silver bullets

Running Lean does not guarantee success

but raises the odds for building a successful product

Running Lean
Roadmap

Document your Plan A

Reasonably smart people can rationalize anything

but entrepreneurs are especially gifted at this.

Business Model versus Business Plan

Business Model versus Business Plan

A document investors make you write

that they dont read

Business Model versus Business Plan

A single diagram of your business

Problem

Solution

Top 3 problems

Top 3 features

Key Metrics
Key activities you
measure

Unique Value Unfair

Proposition
Advantage
Single, clear,
compelling
message that
states why you
are different and
worth buying

Cant be easily
Target customers
copied or bought

Channels
Path to
customers

Cost Structure

Revenue Streams

Customer Acquisition Costs

Distribution Costs
Hosting
People, etc.

Revenue Model
Life Time Value
Revenue
Gross Margin

PRODUCT

Customer
Segments

MARKET

Lean Canvas is adapted from The Business Model Canvas (http://www.businessmodelgeneration.com) and is licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Un-ported License.

Problem

Solution

Key Metrics

Unfair
Advantage

Your product is NOT the product

Problem

Solution

Key Metrics

Cost Structure

Unique
Value
Proposition

Unfair
Advantage

Channels

Revenue Streams

Customer
Segments

Your business model IS the product

Problem

Solution

Key Metrics

Cost Structure

Unique
Value
Proposition

Unfair
Advantage

Channels

Revenue Streams

Customer
Segments

Brainstorm possible models

Time

Brainstorm possible models

Time

Identify the riskiest parts of the model

by stage and type

Identify the riskiest parts of your model

Time

Identify the riskiest parts of your model

Time

3 Stages of a Startup

Problem/Solution
Fit

Product/Market
Fit

Scale

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

3 Stages of a Startup

Problem/Solution
Fit

Product/Market
Fit

Do I have a problem worth solving?

Scale

3 Stages of a Startup

Problem/Solution
Fit

Product/Market
Fit

Have I built something people want?

Scale

3 Stages of a Startup

Problem/Solution
Fit

Product/Market
Fit

How do I accelerate growth?

Scale

Before Product/Market Fit

Problem/Solution
Fit

Product/Market
Fit

Focus: Validated Learning

Experiments: Pivots

Scale

After Product/Market Fit

Problem/Solution
Fit

Product/Market
Fit

Focus: Validated Learning

Experiments: Pivots

Scale

Focus: Growth
Experiments: Optimizations

Select the right tactics that maximize

for speed, learning, and focus

Speed

Learning

Speed

Focus

Learning

Speed

Speed

Learning

Focus

Speed
Chasing your
tail

Learning

Focus

Speed
Chasing your
tail

Learning

Focus

Run out of
resources

Speed

Premature
Optimization

Chasing your
tail

Learning

Focus

Run out of
resources

The optimal
learning loop

Speed

Premature
Optimization

Chasing your
tail

Learning

Focus

Run out of
resources

Systematically test your model

Time

Systematically test your model

Time

Systematically test your model

Time

Systematically test your model

Time

Systematically test your model

Time

Systematically test your model

...

Time

Anatomy of an
Experiment

Formulate testable hypotheses

Too Vague: Being known as an expert will drive early adopters

Specific and Testable: Blog post will drive >100 early sign-ups

Maximize for Speed, Learning, and Focus

The optimal
learning loop

Speed

Premature
Optimization

Chasing your
tail

Learning

Focus

Run out of
resources

Validate Qualitatively, Verify Quantitatively

Qualitative

Quantitative

Start here

Verify with data

BACKLOG

IN-PROGRESS (3)

DONE

BACKLOG

IN-PROGRESS (3)

DONE

VALIDATED
LEARNING

BACKLOG

BACKLOG

IN-PROGRESS (3)

MOCKUP

DEMO

CODE

PARTIAL
ROLLOUT

VALIDATE
QUALITATIVELY

DONE

VALIDATED
LEARNING

FULL
ROLLOUT

VERIFY
QUANTITATIVELY

BACKLOG

BACKLOG

IN-PROGRESS (3)

MOCKUP

DEMO

CODE

PARTIAL
ROLLOUT

VALIDATE
QUALITATIVELY

DONE

VALIDATED
LEARNING

FULL
ROLLOUT

VERIFY
QUANTITATIVELY

BEING WORKED

BACKLOG

BACKLOG

IN-PROGRESS (3)

MOCKUP

DEMO

CODE

PARTIAL
ROLLOUT

VALIDATE
QUALITATIVELY

READY

DONE

VALIDATED
LEARNING

FULL
ROLLOUT

VERIFY
QUANTITATIVELY

BACKLOG

BACKLOG

IN-PROGRESS (3)

MOCKUP

DEMO

CODE

PARTIAL
ROLLOUT

VALIDATE
QUALITATIVELY

CUSTOMER
VALIDATION

DONE

VALIDATED
LEARNING

FULL
ROLLOUT

VERIFY
QUANTITATIVELY

Goal: Achieve 60% Activation rate

STATE
KEY METRIC

BACKLOG

BACKLOG

IN-PROGRESS (3)

MOCKUP

DEMO

CODE

PARTIAL
ROLLOUT

VALIDATE
QUALITATIVELY

DONE

VALIDATED
LEARNING

FULL
ROLLOUT

VERIFY
QUANTITATIVELY

Goal: Achieve 60% Activation rate

BACKLOG

BACKLOG

IN-PROGRESS (1)

MOCKUP

DEMO

CODE

PARTIAL
ROLLOUT

VALIDATE
QUALITATIVELY

DONE

VALIDATED
LEARNING

FULL
ROLLOUT

VERIFY
QUANTITATIVELY

Goal: Achieve 60% Activation rate

BACKLOG

BACKLOG

IN-PROGRESS (1)

MOCKUP

DEMO

CODE

PARTIAL
ROLLOUT

VALIDATE
QUALITATIVELY

UNDERSTAND
PROBLEM

DONE

VALIDATED
LEARNING

FULL
ROLLOUT

VERIFY
QUANTITATIVELY

Goal: Achieve 60% Activation rate

BACKLOG

BACKLOG

IN-PROGRESS (1)

MOCKUP

DEMO

CODE

PARTIAL
ROLLOUT

VALIDATE
QUALITATIVELY

DONE

VALIDATED
LEARNING

FULL
ROLLOUT

VERIFY
QUANTITATIVELY

Goal: Achieve 60% Activation rate

BACKLOG

BACKLOG

IN-PROGRESS (1)

MOCKUP

DEMO

CODE

PARTIAL
ROLLOUT

VALIDATE
QUALITATIVELY

DONE

VALIDATED
LEARNING

FULL
ROLLOUT

VERIFY
QUANTITATIVELY

Goal: Achieve 60% Activation rate

BACKLOG

BACKLOG

IN-PROGRESS (1)

MOCKUP

DEMO

CODE

PARTIAL
ROLLOUT

VALIDATE
QUALITATIVELY

DONE

VALIDATED
LEARNING

FULL
ROLLOUT

VERIFY
QUANTITATIVELY

Goal: Achieve 60% Activation rate

BACKLOG

BACKLOG

IN-PROGRESS (1)

MOCKUP

DEMO

CODE

PARTIAL
ROLLOUT

VALIDATE
QUALITATIVELY

DEFINE
SOLUTION

DONE

VALIDATED
LEARNING

FULL
ROLLOUT

VERIFY
QUANTITATIVELY

Goal: Achieve 60% Activation rate

BACKLOG

BACKLOG

IN-PROGRESS (1)

MOCKUP

DEMO

CODE

PARTIAL
ROLLOUT

VALIDATE
QUALITATIVELY

DEFINE
SOLUTION

DONE

VALIDATED
LEARNING

FULL
ROLLOUT

VERIFY
QUANTITATIVELY

Goal: Achieve 60% Activation rate

BACKLOG

BACKLOG

IN-PROGRESS (1)

MOCKUP

DEMO

CODE

PARTIAL
ROLLOUT

VALIDATE
QUALITATIVELY

DONE

VALIDATED
LEARNING

FULL
ROLLOUT

VERIFY
QUANTITATIVELY

Goal: Achieve 60% Activation rate

BACKLOG

BACKLOG

IN-PROGRESS (1)

MOCKUP

DEMO

CODE

PARTIAL
ROLLOUT

VALIDATE
QUALITATIVELY

DONE

VALIDATED
LEARNING

FULL
ROLLOUT

VERIFY
QUANTITATIVELY

Goal: Achieve 60% Activation rate

BACKLOG

BACKLOG

IN-PROGRESS (1)

MOCKUP

DEMO

CODE

PARTIAL
ROLLOUT

VALIDATE
QUALITATIVELY

DONE

VALIDATED
LEARNING

FULL
ROLLOUT

VERIFY
QUANTITATIVELY

Goal: Achieve 60% Activation rate

BACKLOG

BACKLOG

IN-PROGRESS (1)

MOCKUP

DEMO

CODE

PARTIAL
ROLLOUT

VALIDATE
QUALITATIVELY

DONE

VALIDATED
LEARNING

FULL
ROLLOUT

VERIFY
QUANTITATIVELY

Goal: Achieve 60% Activation rate

BACKLOG

BACKLOG

IN-PROGRESS (1)

MOCKUP

DEMO

CODE

PARTIAL
ROLLOUT

VALIDATE
QUALITATIVELY

DONE

VALIDATED
LEARNING

FULL
ROLLOUT

VERIFY
QUANTITATIVELY

Goal: Achieve 60% Activation rate

BACKLOG

BACKLOG

DONE

VALIDATED
LEARNING

FULL
ROLLOUT

VERIFY
QUANTITATIVELY

IN-PROGRESS (1)

MOCKUP

DEMO

CODE

PARTIAL
ROLLOUT

VALIDATE
QUALITATIVELY

VALIDATE
QUALITATIVELY

Goal: Achieve 60% Activation rate

BACKLOG

BACKLOG

IN-PROGRESS (1)

MOCKUP

DEMO

CODE

PARTIAL
ROLLOUT

VALIDATE
QUALITATIVELY

DONE

VALIDATED
LEARNING

FULL
ROLLOUT

VERIFY
QUANTITATIVELY

Goal: Achieve 60% Activation rate

BACKLOG

BACKLOG

IN-PROGRESS (1)

MOCKUP

DEMO

CODE

PARTIAL
ROLLOUT

VALIDATE
QUALITATIVELY

DONE

VALIDATED
LEARNING

FULL
ROLLOUT

VERIFY
QUANTITATIVELY

Goal: Achieve 60% Activation rate

BACKLOG

BACKLOG

IN-PROGRESS (1)

MOCKUP

DEMO

CODE

PARTIAL
ROLLOUT

VALIDATE
QUALITATIVELY

DONE

VALIDATED
LEARNING

FULL
ROLLOUT

VERIFY
QUANTITATIVELY

Goal: Achieve 60% Activation rate

BACKLOG

BACKLOG

IN-PROGRESS (1)

MOCKUP

DEMO

CODE

PARTIAL
ROLLOUT

VALIDATE
QUALITATIVELY

DONE

VALIDATED
LEARNING

FULL
ROLLOUT

VERIFY
QUANTITATIVELY

Goal: Achieve 60% Activation rate

BACKLOG

BACKLOG

IN-PROGRESS (1)

MOCKUP

DEMO

CODE

PARTIAL
ROLLOUT

VALIDATE
QUALITATIVELY

DONE

VALIDATED
LEARNING

FULL
ROLLOUT

VERIFY
QUANTITATIVELY

VERIFY
QUANTITATIVELY

Goal: Achieve 60% Activation rate

BACKLOG

BACKLOG

IN-PROGRESS (1)

MOCKUP

DEMO

CODE

PARTIAL
ROLLOUT

VALIDATE
QUALITATIVELY

DONE

VALIDATED
LEARNING

FULL
ROLLOUT

VERIFY
QUANTITATIVELY

Goal: Achieve 60% Activation rate

BACKLOG

BACKLOG

IN-PROGRESS (1)

MOCKUP

DEMO

CODE

PARTIAL
ROLLOUT

VALIDATE
QUALITATIVELY

DONE

VALIDATED
LEARNING

FULL
ROLLOUT

VERIFY
QUANTITATIVELY

Create accessible dashboards

A business should be run like an aquarium,

where everybody can see whats going on.
- Jack Stack, The Great Game of Business

Communicate learning early and often

Lean Canvas
Initial Model
Problem

Solution

Business Models
need to be more
portable

Lean Canvas

Unique Value Unfair

Proposition
Advantage

Measuring progress
is hard work

Helps startups raise

Progress Dashboard their odds of
success.
Sharing Learning
High level concept:

Communicating
learning is critical

Key Metrics

Existing alternatives: Create Lean Canvas

Intuition, business
plan, spreadsheets
Track Experiment
Invite Collaborator

Github Meets
Weight-watchers for
business models.
Startup report card.

Customer
Segments

Personal Authority
Expert
endorsements

Channels
1. Blog/Book/
Workshops
2. Startup
Accelerators /
Investors

Cost Structure

Revenue Streams

Hosting Costs - heroku (currently $0)

People Costs - 40hrs * $65/hr = $10K/month

30-day Free Trial @ $14/mo

(1 private canvas / 3 collaborators

Startup Founders
(Creators)
Advisors/Investors
(Collaborators)
Early Adopter:
Familiarity with
Lean Startups,
Customer
Development,
Business Model
Canvas

Break-even point: 743 customers

Lean Canvas is adapted from The Business Model Canvas (http://www.businessmodelgeneration.com) and is licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Un-ported License.

Lean Canvas
Initial Model
Problem

Solution

Business Models
need to be more
portable

Lean Canvas

Unique Value Unfair

Proposition
Advantage

Measuring progress
is hard work

Helps startups raise

Progress Dashboard their odds of
success.
Sharing Learning
High level concept:

Communicating
learning is critical

Key Metrics

Existing alternatives: Create Lean Canvas

Intuition, business
plan, spreadsheets
Track Experiment
Invite Collaborator

Github Meets
Weight-watchers for
business models.
Startup report card.

Customer
Segments

Personal Authority
Expert
endorsements

Channels
1. Blog/Book/
Workshops
2. Startup
Accelerators /
Investors

Cost Structure

Revenue Streams

Hosting Costs - heroku (currently $0)

People Costs - 40hrs * $65/hr = $10K/month

30-day Free Trial @ $14/mo

(1 private canvas / 3 collaborators

Startup Founders
(Creators)
Advisors/Investors
(Collaborators)
Early Adopter:
Familiarity with
Lean Startups,
Customer
Development,
Business Model
Canvas

Break-even point: 743 customers

Lean Canvas is adapted from The Business Model Canvas (http://www.businessmodelgeneration.com) and is licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Un-ported License.

Lean Canvas - Iteration 2

Goal: Refine Lean Canvas activation flow
Problem
Business Models
need to be more
portable
Measuring progress
is hard work
Communicating
learning is critical

Solution
Lean Canvas

Unique Value Unfair

Proposition
Advantage

Helps startups raise

Progress Dashboard their odds of
success.
Sharing Learning
High level concept:

Key Metrics

Existing alternatives:
Create Lean Canvas
Intuition, business
plan, spreadsheets,
Track Experiment
Business Model
Canvas (Blank +
Invite Collaborator
Osterwalder)

Github Meets
Weight-watchers for
business models.
Startup report card.

Customer
Segments

Personal Authority
Expert
endorsements

Channels
1. Blog/Book/
Workshops
2. Startup
Accelerators /
Investors

Startup Founders
(Creators)
Advisors/Investors
(Collaborators)
Early Adopter:
Book reader or
workshop
participant

Cost Structure

Revenue Streams

Hosting Costs - heroku (currently $0)

People Costs - 40hrs * $65/hr = $10K/month

Bundled with book and/or workshop

Break-even point: 250 books/mo

Lean Canvas is adapted from The Business Model Canvas (http://www.businessmodelgeneration.com) and is licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Un-ported License.

Lessons Learned
We thought (Hypotheses):
Personal Authority would be a viable

channel to early adopters

Customers would vote the problem as
must-have
Customers would pay $49/mo

Our Customers told us (Insights):

Most early adopters did come through

blog and twitter

Customers voted #3 problem as musthave. Others as nice-to-have
$49/mo works for customers with early
traction

Next Steps (Future Experiments):

Test MVP based on must-have problem
Test a Free model

50

$20K

37.5

$15K

25

$10K

12.5
0

$5K

Jan

Feb Mar Apr May June July

$0

Running Lean
Illustrated

Iterated

How I Wrote My Book

2-week
releases

Publisher
Interest

Book
Finished?

Preview Chapter
+
Pre-order option
Paid
Workshop
Free
Workshop
Teaser
Page
Blog

Time
Blog

Workshops

Lean Canvas
+
USERcycle

RUNNING LEAN
Systematically iterate your product
from plan A to a plan that works
PDF: $19.00

http://www.RunningLeanHQ.com

3 Stages of a Startup

Problem/Solution
Fit

Product/Market
Fit

Getting to Product/Market Fit

is the first thing that matters

Scale

The path to Product/Market Fit

Problem/Solution
Fit

Product/Market
Fit

Scale

Product/Launch
Fit

Am I Ready to Learn From Customers?

The path to Product/Market Fit

Problem/Solution
Fit

Product/Market
Fit

Product/Launch
Fit

Scale

Workshop
1
2
1. Visit http://LeanCanvas.com
2. Click on sign-up button.
Use sign-up code: lean2010
3. Click Create New Canvas.

The Lean Canvas meta-example

Document Your Plan A

Brainstorm Possible Customers

Sketch Multiple Canvases
Prioritize Where to Start

Document Your Plan A

Brainstorm Possible Customers

Sketch Multiple Canvases
Prioritize Where to Start

Brainstorm Possible Customers

1. Distinguish between customers and users.

2. Split broad customer segments into smaller ones.
3. Sketch multiple Lean Canvases.

Case-Study: Lean Canvas

Possible Customers List

Really broad category: Anyone that uses a business plan today

More Specific:
1. Startup Founders (bootstrapped, funded)
2. Startup Accelerators
3. Investors (Angels, VC)
4. Large Companies

Case-Study: Lean Canvas

Possible Customers List

Really broad category: Anyone that uses a business plan today

More Specific:
1. Startup Founders (bootstrapped, funded)
2. Startup Accelerators
3. Investors (Angels, VC)
4. Large Companies

Sketch Multiple Canvases

1. Sketch a canvas in one sitting

2. Its okay to leave sections blank
3. Think in the present
4. Use a customer-centric approach

Problem

Solution

Top 3 problems

Top 3 features

3
1

Key Metrics

Unique Value Unfair

Proposition
Advantage
Single, clear,
compelling
message that
states why you
are different and
worth buying

Key activities you

measure

Cant be easily
Target customers
copied or bought

Channels
Path to
customers

Cost Structure

Revenue Streams

Customer Acquisition Costs

Distribution Costs
Hosting
People, etc.

Revenue Model
Life Time Value
Revenue
Gross Margin

Customer
Segments

Lean Canvas is adapted from The Business Model Canvas (http://www.businessmodelgeneration.com) and is licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Un-ported License.

Problem and Customer Segments

1. List top 1-3 problems

2. List existing alternatives
3. Identify other user roles
4. Hone in on possible early adopters

Case-Study: Lean Canvas

Problem and Customer Segments
Problem

Solution

Business Models
need to be more
portable

Unique Value Unfair

Proposition
Advantage

Startup Founders
(Creators)

Measuring progress
is hard work
Communicating
learning is critical

Advisors/Investors
(Collaborators)

Key Metrics

Channels

Early Adopter:
Familiarity with
Lean Startups,
Customer
Development,
Business Model
Canvas

Existing alternatives:
Intuition, business
plan, spreadsheets

Cost Structure

Customer
Segments

Revenue Streams

Lean Canvas is adapted from The Business Model Canvas (http://www.businessmodelgeneration.com) and is licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Un-ported License.

Unique Value Proposition

A single, clear, compelling message that states

why you are different and worth buying

Unique Value Proposition

1. Target early adopters

2. Focus on finished story benefits
3. Create a high-concept pitch

Words matter

Words matter

Images matter

Case-Study: Lean Canvas

Unique Value Proposition
Problem

Solution

Business Models
need to be more
portable

Helps startups raise

their odds of
success.

Measuring progress
is hard work
Communicating
learning is critical
Existing alternatives:
Intuition, business
plan, spreadsheets

Cost Structure

Unique Value Unfair

Proposition
Advantage

Startup Founders
(Creators)
Advisors/Investors
(Collaborators)

High level concept:

Key Metrics

Github Meets
Weight-watchers for
business models.

Customer
Segments

Channels

Startup report card.

Early Adopter:
Familiarity with
Lean Startups,
Customer
Development,
Business Model
Canvas

Revenue Streams

Lean Canvas is adapted from The Business Model Canvas (http://www.businessmodelgeneration.com) and is licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Un-ported License.

Solution

1. Dont spend too much time on this yet

2. Outline a possible solution for each problem

Case-Study: Lean Canvas

Solution
Problem

Solution

Business Models
need to be more
portable

Lean Canvas

Unique Value Unfair

Proposition
Advantage

Measuring progress
is hard work

Helps startups raise

Progress Dashboard their odds of
success.
Sharing Learning
High level concept:

Communicating
learning is critical

Key Metrics

Existing alternatives:
Intuition, business
plan, spreadsheets

Cost Structure

Github Meets
Weight-watchers for
business models.

Customer
Segments
Startup Founders
(Creators)
Advisors/Investors
(Collaborators)

Channels

Startup report card.

Early Adopter:
Familiarity with
Lean Startups,
Customer
Development,
Business Model
Canvas

Revenue Streams

Lean Canvas is adapted from The Business Model Canvas (http://www.businessmodelgeneration.com) and is licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Un-ported License.

Channels

Start building and testing a path to

customers from day one

Channels

1. FREEer versus PAID

2. Inbound versus Outbound
3. Direct versus Automated
4. Direct versus Indirect
5. Retention before Referral

Case-Study: Lean Canvas

Channels
Problem

Solution

Business Models
need to be more
portable

Lean Canvas

Unique Value Unfair

Proposition
Advantage

Measuring progress
is hard work

Helps startups raise

Progress Dashboard their odds of
success.
Sharing Learning
High level concept:

Communicating
learning is critical

Key Metrics

Existing alternatives:
Intuition, business
plan, spreadsheets

Cost Structure

Github Meets
Weight-watchers for
business models.
Startup report card.

Customer
Segments
Startup Founders
(Creators)
Advisors/Investors
(Collaborators)

Channels
1. Blog/Book/
Workshops
2. Startup
Accelerators /
Investors

Early Adopter:
Familiarity with
Lean Startups,
Customer
Development,
Business Model
Canvas

Revenue Streams

Lean Canvas is adapted from The Business Model Canvas (http://www.businessmodelgeneration.com) and is licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Un-ported License.

Revenue Streams and Cost Structure

Test pricing early

Revenue Streams and Cost Structure

1. Pricing is part of the product.

2. Pricing determines your customers.
3. Getting paid is the first form of validation.
4. Avoid derivative currencies - like time, passion, attention.
- only retention and revenue matter

How to price your product

1. More art than science

2. Price relative to alternatives
3. Keep it simple
4. Start somewhere
5. Test Pricing

Case-Study: Lean Canvas

Revenue Streams and Cost Structure
Problem

Solution

Business Models
need to be more
portable

Lean Canvas

Unique Value Unfair

Proposition
Advantage

Measuring progress
is hard work

Helps startups raise

Progress Dashboard their odds of
success.
Sharing Learning
High level concept:

Communicating
learning is critical

Key Metrics

Existing alternatives:
Intuition, business
plan, spreadsheets

Github Meets
Weight-watchers for
business models.
Startup report card.

Customer
Segments
Startup Founders
(Creators)
Advisors/Investors
(Collaborators)

Channels
1. Blog/Book/
Workshops
2. Startup
Accelerators /
Investors

Cost Structure

Revenue Streams

Hosting Costs - heroku (currently $0)

People Costs - 40hrs * $65/hr = $10K/month

30-day Free Trial @ $14/mo

(1 private canvas / 3 collaborators

Early Adopter:
Familiarity with
Lean Startups,
Customer
Development,
Business Model
Canvas

Break-even point:
743 customers
Lean Canvas is adapted from The Business Model Canvas (http://www.businessmodelgeneration.com) and is licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Un-ported License.

Key Metrics

The key numbers that tell you how

your business is doing

Key Metrics
Acquisition

How do users find you?

Activation

Do users have a great first experience?

Retention

Do users come back?

Revenue

How do you make money?

Referral

Do users tell others?

Acquisition

How do users find you?

Activation

Do users have a great first experience?

Retention

Do users come back?

Revenue

How do you make money?

Referral

Do users tell others?

Before Product/Market Fit

Acquisition
Activation
Retention
Revenue
Referral

After Product/Market Fit

Case-Study: Lean Canvas

Key Metrics
Problem

Solution

Business Models
need to be more
portable

Lean Canvas

Unique Value Unfair

Proposition
Advantage

Measuring progress
is hard work

Helps startups raise

Progress Dashboard their odds of
success.
Sharing Learning
High level concept:

Communicating
learning is critical

Key Metrics

Existing alternatives: Create Lean Canvas

Intuition, business
plan, spreadsheets
Track Experiment

Github Meets
Weight-watchers for
business models.
Startup report card.

Customer
Segments
Startup Founders
(Creators)
Advisors/Investors
(Collaborators)

Channels
1. Blog/Book/
Workshops
2. Startup
Accelerators /
Investors

Invite Collaborator

Cost Structure

Revenue Streams

Hosting Costs - heroku (currently $0)

People Costs - 40hrs * $65/hr = $10K/month

30-day Free Trial @ $14/mo

(1 private canvas / 3 collaborators

Break-even point: 743 customers

Early Adopter:
Familiarity with
Lean Startups,
Customer
Development,
Business Model
Canvas

Break-even point:
743 customers

Lean Canvas is adapted from The Business Model Canvas (http://www.businessmodelgeneration.com) and is licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Un-ported License.

Unfair Advantage

A real unfair advantage is something

that cannot be easily copied or bought

Case-Study: Lean Canvas

Unfair Advantage
Problem

Solution

Business Models
need to be more
portable

Lean Canvas

Unique Value Unfair

Proposition
Advantage

Measuring progress
is hard work

Helps startups raise

Progress Dashboard their odds of
success.
Sharing Learning
High level concept:

Communicating
learning is critical

Key Metrics

Existing alternatives: Create Lean Canvas

Intuition, business
plan, spreadsheets
Track Experiment

Github Meets
Weight-watchers for
business models.
Startup report card.

Customer
Segments

Personal Authority
Expert
endorsements

Channels
1. Blog/Book/
Workshops
2. Startup
Accelerators /
Investors

Invite Collaborator

Cost Structure

Revenue Streams

Hosting Costs - heroku (currently $0)

People Costs - 40hrs * $65/hr = $10K/month

30-day Free Trial @ $14/mo

(1 private canvas / 3 collaborators

Break-even point: 743 customers

Startup Founders
(Creators)
Advisors/Investors
(Collaborators)
Early Adopter:
Familiarity with
Lean Startups,
Customer
Development,
Business Model
Canvas

Break-even point:
743 customers

Lean Canvas is adapted from The Business Model Canvas (http://www.businessmodelgeneration.com) and is licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Un-ported License.

Prioritize Where to Start

Time

Prioritize Where to Start

1. Customer Pain Level

2. Ease of Reach
3. Price/Gross Margin
4. Market Size

Time

Now its your turn

Running Lean is a systematic process for iterating

from Plan A to a plan that works.

There are no silver bullets

Running Lean does not guarantee success

but raises the odds for building a successful product

Questions?

RUNNING LEAN
http://RunningLeanHQ.com
Buy PDF: $19.00

Ash Maurya
twitter: ashmaurya
blog: http://www.ashmaurya.com